The Shadows

Alex North has outdone himself with this second book. Oh how I loved thee! And strangely enough, I loved it not because of it’s creepiness and superb twists and turns, but I am absolutely fond of it because of the narration of the relationship between Paul and his mother. Oh my god how I have cried in those passages. I don’t know if that was the author’s intentions, or that I am a few years away for when my blue eyed boy will leave home in search of an adventure all of his own, but I sobbed like a little girl. Still get teary eyed if I think about it too much.
Moving on to the creepy part, lol, this is the story of Paul, James, Billy, Jenny and Charlie. Oh Charlie. He made my skin crawl. He gets all the boys believing in lucid show more dreaming and sets out to groom them and mold them into his twisted ways to commit a heinous crime. It all goes viral, like an urban legend, and years later, people are still suffering the after shocks.
You never see the twists coming. Never. When you are right in the middle of them, all you can do is continue reading with your mouth half open. That is if you are not crying, like me.
Definitely do not miss this one. It’s perfect. show less

Give me every book that Alex North has ever written and I will be a happy camper. Oh…that’s right…I’ve already read every book he’s ever written…. this is only his second one. Stephen King and Dean Koontz should start to make room to share the horror honor pedestal they’re sitting on with Alex North. I have been watching for another book by this excellent, talented author since I read [Whisper Man]…thank you Mr. North for this excellent offering. I don’t want to give away anything to take the excitement and suspense and enjoyment out of another readers experience with this story but I can say that I absolutely LOVED Jenny and how her story evolved. I thought it was an awesome addition to Paul’s life story and how he show more handled everything going on. I didn’t guess her big twist at all, but it was a nice surprise. I definitely did not guess who the murderer was, so kudos to Alex North for having me chasing my tail and going in circles the entire book. Get out that “dream diary” you say you keep Alex and get busy on the next one. This was in a word... absolutely 110% …INCREDIBLE. show less

Alex North has done it again!

The man behind the successful The Whisper Man--a personal favorite--is at it again with his follow up novel, The Shadows.

Twenty-five years ago, Paul Adams and his friend James got in too deep with a classmate named Charlie Crabtree, a boy too sinister for Paul to stomach. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to just sever the friendship: a crime of unspeakable evil would shatter their lives and forever ruin their town. And afterward, Charlie is never seen again.

Now, having put the past somewhat behind him, Paul has returned home to be with his ailing mother. But the past refuses to stay buried and he learns that a copycat has struck, all in the name of Charlie Crabtree. And his mother is terrified that something show more terrible is in her house.

With a killer on his heels, Paul must piece together his mother's disturbed warnings before he, too, falls victim to the myth of someone called Red Hands, and someone lurking in the Shadows...

Having already loved North's storytelling in The Whisper Man, I was eagerly looking forward to his new book. I wasn't disappointed. I was hooked from the first page and devoured the rest in a matter of days. And dare I say, I might like this one even more.

I found the subject matter--particularly lucid dreaming particularly fascinating and a unique twist on the genre. As someone who frequently has very vivid dreams, I was immediately drawn in to how this device would effect the plot. And it delivered wonderful twists that I did not see coming. One even brought me to tears.

North's writing shines again--he has remarkable talent to create a story rich in character and detail while at the same time offering up fast-paced thrills this genre is known for. And once again, instead of cheap violence intended only for shock value, we're given a protagonist we can root for, believable villains, and a satisfying ending.

Oh—and plenty of bonus points for that deliciously creepy cover.

A special thanks to BookishFirst and Celadon Books for providing me with this copy in exchange for a review. It's proof that my enjoyment and the success of The Whisper Man was not a fluke. I'll be looking forward to Alex North's books for a long time to come. show less

You might lose a little sleep...

As a person who tends to have a hard time sleeping (maybe I shouldn't be reading these types of books... just kidding) due to very vivid and active dreams, I found The Shadows by Alex North very eerie and extremely entertaining! Yeah... I'm not right.

Fours teenage boys experiment with lucid dreaming in hopes of communicating with a boogyman known as Red Hands. The story is told from the perspective Paul, of one of those four boys. Something terrible happened twenty-five years ago that Paul has been trying to forget ever since.

This entirely original novel does give a slight nod to the Slenderman legend and the vulnerability of young people to believe in tall tales. As with The Whisper Man, Mr. North show more weaves an irresistible story with an interesting cast of characters and lots of twists and turns.

Because of the many twists and turns, my one suggestion for reading this book is to try to read it in as few chunks as possible. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to read it in one fell swoop (or two) and I really believe that this would be the best course of action for the full enjoyment (and suspense) of this tale.

The Shadows is a worthwhile read for fans of suspense and horror! I'm looking forward to reading more by Alex North! show less

The Shadows by Alex North
Review
For the first time in my life, I got spooked while reading a book. Like goosebumps, discomfort--the whole bit. I am going to be honest, I was not excited for another Alex North book after reading The Whisper Man, which didn’t blow me away. But in The Shadows, the characters were more interesting (except Amanda Beck, because she is the same), and the mystery is more upsetting and personal. Paul Adams is quite the mystery, and I did not see the twist coming. This was more than a thriller; I would definitely count this as horror. And completely out of character for me, I liked it!
Paul Adams has not been to Griffen Woods for twenty-five years, as he is trying to put the horrific murder that happened when he show more was a teen behind him. But he gets a call that his mother is in hospice after taking a fall while alone, so he goes to stay at her home and visit her. Meanwhile, Detective Amanda Beck is called to a murder scene in Featherbank (which I believe is the town from The Whisper Man) that is a copycat for the murder in Griffen Woods that Paul wants to forget. She goes to Griffen to figure out what connection there is to the murder by Charlie Crabtree, who after the murder in Griffen had disappeared without a trace. Now there is someone on the internet calling themself CC666 and sending messages to encourage the murders and Crabtree’s beliefs in lucid dreaming.
I really enjoyed the mystery in this book. The reader asks questions like: who is knocking on Paul’s door? What happened to Crabtree, is he dead or not? Then instead of dragging things out, more mysterious things kept happening. Paul’s character arc is directly tied to the mystery and the crimes, which makes the stakes higher and the narrative tighter. There are a few extraneous characters (and way too many with names that start with D), but I sort of ignored them.
The pacing of this book was great, and really stood out to me. The switch between the “now” and the “before” were perfectly timed in a way that made me frustrated in the best way. In so many books, chapters leave on cliffhangers that continue on the next page or they go from the main plot to a B plot that doesn’t matter. But this book has two very interesting threads with Paul going that the cliffhangers on both sides were frustrating but I was excited to go back to the other side. All good for me.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I find it hard to talk about it without getting into spoiler territory, which I refuse to do because the book hasn’t even come out yet! But what I will say is this is worth your time, and would be a great summer read.
Honestly, I am left with two questions. Is this book the continuation of the Alex North Interconnected Universe? And who is Alex North? I want more!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Romantic subplot rating: ❤❤❤❤/5
Jenny is adorable and I love her. I love her and Paul. That is all I will say about that. Please read this book. Please talk to me after. Also, the used book store in this book is my dream. show less

Even better than I was expecting. Just a perfectly executed, creeping, suspenseful sort of thriller. I was completely taken in with the way the story was constructed--weaving in and out of Paul's memories. The slow reveal of his past and the horrifying details of the murder of one of his friends worked really well for me, when a lot of stories that flip between past and present constantly don't.

I wasn't especially looking forward to reading "The Shadows," needed to be in the right head space for it, but when that time finally came I blew through this book in a few sittings. I never got around to reading "The Whisper Man," and it was just chance that I read this one first, but I'm definitely looking forward to it now!

3.5 Not quite as creepy as his first, but creepy enough for me. Schoolyards and bullying sets the stage in this one. What happens as a result of this is what Paul is remembering when he returns home to his dying mother after a long absence. A horrific murder in his school days which is seems that someone is once again bringing it to his attention. Detective Amanda Beck from this authors previous book, is the investigator.

Dreams and lucid dreams, do you believe in them or not? Can one manage to act in these dreams, become a watcher or participant? Never really thought of it before but after reading this, it is a question I have pondered. There were a few zingers, unexpected revelations within, that took me off guard.

I like his show more distinctive covers and he does tell a good story. As long as it stays just a story.

ARC from Edelweiss and Celadon Books. show less